Restoring the Elwha

September 15, 2011

On Saturday, September 17, 2011, the demolition of Washington's Elwha River dams begins. This ambitious dam removal—mandated by a landmark federal case in 1992—marks a new phase in the history of the Elwha River—and in the history of rivers in the United States. Read more about the removal here and here.

We're pleased to announce the publication, later this fall, of a long-term environmental and human history of the river by Jeff Crane. Finding the River: An Environmental History of the Elwha describes the long struggle to remove the dams and explores the rise of a river restoration movement. Jeff had a few comments to share at this historic moment:

"Removing man's monuments to progress in order to improve nature, advocates of Elwha River and fisheries restoration prove that competing constituencies and interest groups can negotiate a new ethical and ecological middle ground. Aldo Leopold wrote, 'We shall hardly relinquish the shovel.' On the Elwha River it was put to good use more than once."